reflections on code, making, and tech

Connect Your RPi to Your Computer’s WiFi

Using this method of connecting your Raspberry Pi to the internet makes it super easy to truck your Pi around using a secure shell (SSH). Once it’s configured, you need only your Pi, computer, and Ethernet cable.

**Update March 2016 — currently trying to find an easier method of doing this**

Materials:

Raspberry Pi connected to monitor and keyboard

Crossover Ethernet cable

Windows computer with an internet connection (You can use WXP, but the Network settings might look a bit different than the ones shown here)

Steps:

The first thing to do is allow your computer’s internet to be shared with an outside peripheral. Navigate to the Control Panel>Network and Internet>Network and Sharing Center.

Pick ‘Change Adapter Settings’ in the upper left.

You see a list of different connections. Make sure your ‘Local Area Connection,’ which is the wired Ethernet port that your pi will be connected to, is ‘Enabled’ by right clicking and selecting that option. In my case the number 21 follows my LAN connection, yours might be different. It’ll show a red X because there’s nothing connected to the port yet.

Now that the LAN connection is enabled, right click on it and select ‘Properties.’ Find the ‘Internet Protocol Version 4’ item on the list and click on the ‘Properties’ for that.

From there select ‘Obtain an IP address automatically’. Click OK. This is so when you connect your Pi, an IP address will automatically be assigned to it.

Still in the list of Connections, find the wireless network that you’re connected to.

Right click on it, and select properties.

Up at the top of the box, select ‘Sharing’, and select the box next to ‘Allow other network users to…’

In the networking selection box underneath that option, select your LAN connection. Click OK. Now your wireless network is sharing a connection through your computer with the LAN port. It should say ‘Shared’ next to the network.

That’s it for the computer settings. Connect the Ethernet cable between your Pi and your computer. Now boot your Raspberry Pi.

You should be connected to the internet via your computer’s wifi. Try out the web browser or install some software, or you could try out SSH.